College Career Connection C3 Institute for Community Incl

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Transition to CollegeImproving Options and
Outcomes for Students with Intellectual
Disabilities

• Think College Symposium
• Detroit, Michigan
• November 5, 2007

www.transitiontocollege.net
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Overview

• The Models
• The PERC Project
• Strategies for Success
• Program Coordinators Perspective
• College Professors Perspective
• Final Thoughts

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What is dual enrollment?

• Students typically aged 18-21 years old who are
  eligible for special education and related
  services under the Individuals with Disabilities
  Education Act (IDEA) and are still enrolled in
  high school but take college courses.

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Current OSEP Projects

• Postsecondary Education Research Center (PERC)
  Project-TransCen, Inc.
• College Career Connection (C3) Institute for
  Community Inclusion, University of
  Massachusetts/Boston

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The PERC Project

• The purpose of the PERC Project is to demonstrate
  and research exemplary practices supporting
  students with intellectual disabilities ages
  18-21 in postsecondary settings.

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Mixed or Hybrid Model

• Program Center and Coordinator
• Concurrent/Dual Enrollment
• Employment
• Individualized Instruction

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The PERC Project (2004-2009)

• Two PERC Sites (MD CT)
• Conduct site improvement activities
• Provide statewide technical assistance
• Collect and synthesize empirical data on the
  efficacy and outcomes
• Disseminate findings nationally

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PERC Data Collection

• Employment
• College Course Access
• Self Determination
• Exit/Follow Up Data

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Preliminary Data

• MD PERC Site
• 88 in paid work (restaurant worker, usher,
  office clerk, utility worker, grocery store,
  retail, golf course, federal government)
• Work an average of 22.7 hours per week for
  average 8.00/hour
• 44 auditing classes (reading and vocabulary,
  computer basics, keyboarding, writing, food
  certification)

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Preliminary Data

• CT PERC Site
• 92 in paid work (clothing retail, humane
  society, restaurants, grocery stores)
• Work an average of 8.3 hours per week for an
  average of 7.50/hour
• 100 auditing classes (History, Theater,
  Psychology, English courses)

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Issues

• Poorly defined program goals
• Lack of student involvement in planning and
  monitoring of activities
• Little connection to real life outcomes and
  employment
• Lack of program/service evaluation

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Program Goals will impact

• Referral criteria
• Incoming student data needs
• Marketing of services
• Student schedule
• Location of instruction
• Outcome measures

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Western Connection Program Goals

• Students will annually participate in
  person-centered planning to identify dreams and
  determine goals and support needs for the
  upcoming year.
• Students will explore job opportunities in three
  areas of interest through informational
  interviews, job shadows and/or business tours.
• Students will obtain paid integrated community
  supported or competitive employment in a field of
  interest
• Students will attend 1-2 audited college courses
  per year and monitor progress using a curriculum
  matrix
• Students will demonstrate the ability to choose a
  continuing education or college course that fits
  their schedule and interests, register for that
  course, and determine transportation to and from
  the course independently.

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Western Connection Program Goals Continued

• Students will demonstrate the ability to
  articulate their support needs in employment
  settings, college classrooms, community settings,
  and at home.
• Students will monitor personal progress toward
  goals on a quarterly basis.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to access
  public transportation when needed to travel in
  the community.
• Students will participate in their IEP meeting to
  the best of their ability and at a minimum share
  their name, accomplishments, support needs, and
  goals for the upcoming year.
• Students will transition out of the program to an
  adult service provider that will sustain the
  students level of integrated employment.

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The Importance of Employment?

• For youth with disabilities, one of the most
  important research findings shows that work
  experience during high school helps them get jobs
  at higher wages after they graduate. NCWD/Youth,
  Hot topic Work-Based Learning, 2003 Volume 2
• Secondary school students with disabilities who
  worked for pay outside the home in the preceding
  year before exit and/or have participated in a
  work-study program at school, have an increased
  chance for employment in their post school years.
  Changes over time in the Early Postschool
  Outcomes of Youth with Disabilities A Report of
  Findings from the National Longitudinal
  Transition Study (NLTS) and the NLTS2.

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Transition Success EMPLOYMENT

• Job Trials vs. ACTUAL Jobs
• Expectations
• Experience
• Ownership
• Transitions
• Outcomes (!)

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Successful Employment Means

• Individually hired in a position that matches
  skills and interests
• Directly hired at a competitive wage
• Integrated, interesting environments
• Career advancement opportunities
• Employer commitment and involvement
• Customer satisfaction (employer/employee)

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College Outreach Experience (CORE)

• Monica Simonson
• Coordinator, CORE Program
• msimonsen_at_bcps.org
• Baltimore County Public Schools

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Where are we?

• Baltimore County has 5 Post-Secondary Functional
  Academic Learning Support Programs
• One 4-year University
• Three community college campuses
• One satellite community college campus

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Administrative/Systemic Issues

• Each program had very distinct characteristics,
  student profiles, and programs- as a group we
  wanted to be more cohesive. We wanted to ensure
  consistency and equity across all of the
  programs.

• Create vision, mission, belief statements
• Hire a liaison to work with all five programs
  and interface with sending schools
• Create formal documents- eligibility criteria,
  application procedures, etc.

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CCBC Catonsville
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CCBC- Catonsville Campus Schedule

• Mon., Wed., Fri.
• Independent work sites with drop-in job support
• Crew of students working at local food bank with
  job coaching
• Enclave of students working in campus computer
  lab with job coach

• Tuesdays Thursdays
• Functional academic instruction
• Inclusion into campus electives with supports
• Lunch and free time with non-disabled peers
• Participation in special campus programs

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Campus Involvement

• Students are active members of the campus
  community by
• Taking campus elective courses
• Participating in campus clubs and extracurricular
  activities
• Attending special events (plays, concerts, etc.)
• Using campus resources (gym, cafeteria, game
  room, library, etc.)

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Taking College Courses

• Hip Hop Dance
• Fencing
• Intro to Acting
• Studio Art
• Keyboarding
• Yoga
• Swimnastics
• Cooking

• Audit and Credit options
• Check for prerequisites
• Importance of registration timeline
• Tuition waivers
• Grouping of students
• Provide appropriate support to instructor and
  student- look for friendly face and natural
  supports

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Campus Activities

• Some ideas
• Join SGA- we are recognized as a club on campus
• Help students figure out transportation
• Find mentors in the various clubs
• Look for ways to cosponsor events with various
  campus groups
• Attend EVERYTHING!

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Contributions to the College

• Attend club meetings and participate in
  activities (lectures, movies, plays, etc.)
• Develop and host activities
• Disability Awareness Day
• Club Sponsor- Best Buddies
• Share knowledge
• Taught Intro to Special Education Class
• Host interns and volunteers
• Lead professional development workshop
• Provide training to various departments

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Contributions to the College

• Job Sites
• Clean computer labs
• Work in gym equipment room
• Food service
• Landscaping
• Recycling club
• Increasing enrollment in low enrollment programs-
  Hospitality

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Involving Peers from College

• Look for peers to serve as natural supports
• Identify courses with service learning
  requirements
• Speak to classes, hand out fliers!
• Go to the Best Buddies Club, Future Educators of
  America, etc.
• Look for service oriented organizations
• Speak to Speech Pathology, Education, and
  Psychology professors

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Employment Issues
Our students will be committed to increasing
independence at work and in the community through
challenging opportunities and strong work ethic.

• Set high expectations for all students
• Flexible scheduling to allow for one-on-one job
  coaching
• Rely on connections
• Think outside immediate neighborhood!

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Learning Environment/Space Issues

• Difficult to reserve dedicated space- work with
  the Campus Dean, Scheduling Technician, and
  individual departments to locate and reserve
  space.
• Campus classes may be clustered during certain
  times- consider having an alternative program
  schedule (10 AM- 4 PM?)
• Consider
• Internet access (email account)
• Phone line and access
• Staff usage of copying facilities and other
  campus resources!

• The post-secondary host site will provide a
  safe learning environment, appropriate
  accommodations for learning and partnership
  opportunities for the BCPS FALS programs.

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Transition Planning

• Help students form planning teams
• Help students to lead their own IEP meetings
• Directly teach and always support
  self-determination strategies
• Take students to visit agencies
• Expose students to many post-secondary options
• Learn from graduates Invite alumni to share
  experiences

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Working with Families
Our families will be active partners in the
educational, vocational and transitional
components of the program.

• Host family events! We do pot-luck dinners.
• Make sure parents know what is going on- share
  successes!
• Help families walk through transition process

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Summer Program

• Transition new students- to acclimate to campus
  and college life
• Develop job sites
• Enroll in elective courses, meet with professors,
  and develop prerequisite skills

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Our staff

• Our staff will be prepared, trained and
  dedicated to continuous professional development.
  They will work to provide authentic learning
  opportunities and differentiated instruction that
  will develop self-advocacy, functional academics,
  and work, social, and community skills in all
  students. They will strive to build partnerships
  with all other members of the college community.

• Try to find people who are
• Flexible
• Energetic
• Creative
• Strong communicators
• Create job descriptions
• Allow for flexible scheduling
• Look for training opportunities
• Keep track of daily activities

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Working with PERC

• Conducted program evaluation
• Identified major goals/tasks
• Form advisory committee (?!)
• Create marketing materials
• Create flexible scheduling
• Collecting data on class enrollment and
  employment outcomes

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Our Future Goals

• Collecting outcome data
• Formalizing our partnership with the college by
  creating a MOU
• Create marketing materials for the program
• More inclusive classroom location with consistent
  access to resources

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Partnering with the College

• Scott Vratarich
• Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator,
  Hospitality Management
• Community College of Baltimore County
• svratarich_at_ccbcmd.edu

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How it started

• A student enrolled in one section of an
  introductory course
• Each semester, more students enrolled
• Able to maintain academic rigor and meet learning
  outcomes

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First Impressions

• Unsure of students abilities to meet learning
  outcomes
• Quickly realized that students had unique talents
  and abilities!
• CORE staff was able to help modify materials and
  some students could audit

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How did this impact your classes?

• Spending time with students who were learning for
  learnings sake
• Reignited passion for teaching!!!
• Reconsidered course design- maybe I can come up
  with new partnerships
• Universal course design

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How does this impact other students?

• Students were able to learn from and be exposed
  to people with disabilities
• In the Hospitality industry, we are always
  emphasizing diversity anyway
• Created friendships
• A few of the HRMT students attended the CORE
  Program graduation.

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A Partnership was born

• Created a section of Food Production course
• Course met 3 days/week
• During the January interim session
• Students met typical course objectives while
  preparing many different meals

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A Partnership was born

• Course culminated in a luncheon for VIP guests
  from the school system, college, and community
• The event was covered by the local media and
  allowed all of us to share in the success

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What have been the challenges?

• Monitoring and measuring learning
• Getting administrative support for logistics
• Alternative location
• Alternative schedule

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Advice for Professionals

• Dont let your own fear prohibit or inhibit
  enrollment and participation
• Be willing to think creatively about course
  design options
• Treat the students as you would any other- as an
  individual
• Communicate with the support staff to be
  proactive about any concerns

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Advice for Teachers/Students Who Want to Partner
with a Professor or College

• Start small
• Choose classes based on needs, interests, skills
• Hospitality for students in food service
• Speech or Theatre for student who needs to work
  on communication
• Non-academic courses or consider auditing courses
• Consider classes/programs with low enrollment
• Make sure the partnership is mutually beneficial
• The college gets FTEs and/or tuition
• Create relationships!

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Win! Win! Win! Win!Creating a Partnership
Benefits

• Hospitality Program
• College as a whole
• The CORE Program
• The students
• The church who hosted our group
• The instructor (me!)

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Create High Expectations

• Students should
• Identify/monitor personal goals
• Choose courses
• Discuss needs with instructor(s)
• Discuss needs with employer
• Know how to advocate when things are not going
  well

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Things to keep in mind..
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Taking a class is not enough

• Student must know the process
• Identify options (college class, adult education,
  park and recreation)
• Registration process and available supports
• Payment process and funding supports
• Transportation
• Identify future needs/interests

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Dont be Limited to College Classes

• Learning does not have to occur at college
• Consider community learning options
• (YMCA, Park Rec, Home Depot)
• Ensure that students know what options are
  available in their community and how to access
  them.

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Evaluation

• Monitor student activities and goal achievement
• Monitor staff activities and time usage
• Monitor satisfaction of all parties
• Collect student exit data and outcome data
• Review all data annually to determine needed
  changes
• Share evaluation data with stakeholders

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The Promise of Postsecondary Education

• Choosing to learn
• Learning can be a lifelong option
• Connecting learning to real life
• Change perceptions (self and others)

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Books

• Transition Services for Students with Significant
  Disabilities in College and Community Settings
  -Grigal, Neubert, Moon (2005)
  http//www.proedinc.com/
• Going to College - Getzel Wehman (2005)
• http//www.brookespublishing.com/

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Websites

• www.transitiontocollege.net
• www.thinkcollege.net
• www.education.umd.edu/oco
• www.transitioncoalition.org
• www.STEPS-Forward.org
• www.heath.gwu.edu

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Videos

• Through the Same Door Inclusion Includes College
  (2006)
• http//www.throughthesamedoor.com/
• PSU
• Life Link PSU DVD
• http//soar.ois.psu.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/SOAR.wo
  a/wa/campusRegister?productId0521DVD